Greeley Surgeon Fighting Coronavirus By Donating Antibody-Rich Plasma

GREELEY, Colo. (CBS4) - Early in the coronavirus crisis in Colorado, a doctor in Weld County saw the seriousness of the virus first hand. Now, that doctor is giving even more of himself to continue the fight.

"In the 30 years I've been doing this, I've not seen anything quite like this," said Dr. Maurice Lyons.

In March, when cases of COVID-19 began filling North Colorado Medical Center in Greeley, Lyons got an intimate look from the battlefront.

"That week I was able to work in the Covid rooms quite a bit," Lyons told CBS 4 Health Specialist Kathy Walsh.

Lyons, a cardiovascular surgeon, was reassigned as 'line guy' in the ICU.

"Central line insertion and A line insertion, which is a way to monitor blood pressures," he explained.

He said he wore plenty of personal protective equipment or PPE, but had just returned from a family trip to the Bahamas and Florida.

Five days back at work, he had a 103 degree temperature and tested positive for Covid 19.

"I had like the chills, myalgia, where muscles ache, and I was sleepy," Lyons said. "I was also anxious because I'd seen many people, as I said, younger than I were, that were in pretty rough shape."

Lyons recovered at home, tested positive for antibodies to the coronavirus and is now giving back by donating plasma. Dr. Michael Leonard, Lyons former colleague, was the first patient with Covid 19 to be infused with convalescent plasma in Colorado. He left UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital after 34 days on a ventilator.

"Of all the things I've seen that, I think, piqued my interest in doing this, it was his story," Lyons said.

Lyons has since donated plasma three times.

"My gut feeling is it works," he said. "It has the potential of helping."
And in this unprecedented pandemic, Lyons will do whatever he can to help.